Volunteers 'Get on the Bus' to help area not-for-profits

Several volunteer-minded individuals boarded a Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority bus Thursday, April 20, for a tour around Cape Girardeau to visit organizations seeking helping hands.

This was one of three "Get on the Bus" tours, sponsored by United Way of Southeast Missouri (UWSEMO), in April, which is National Volunteer Month. There was a second tour of Cape Girardeau Friday, April 21, and a previous tour Thursday, April 13, in Jackson.

Elizabeth Shelton, executive director UWSEMO, led the tours and said many not-for-profits are having to rebuild their volunteer base, for several reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We all lost volunteers during that time and are still working hard to get them back," Shelton said.

The first stop on Thursday's tour was Centenary United Methodist Church to meet Elizabeth Mathis, director of marketing and development for the Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Missouri. She said the Boy and Girls Club is an after-school program for youth providing homework assistance, nutritious snacks and specialized curriculum. She said they need volunteers to prepare snacks for the children as well as help during craft time. Mathis said they need a lot of help during their Christmas event where children participate in holiday crafts and also meet Santa.

Also at Centenary was Ashley Seiler, chief partnership officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters Cape Girardeau. Seiler said Big Brothers Big Sisters matches young people with a caring adult mentor to listen, encourage and walk alongside them as well as working to foster stability with the young person's family at home. She said they are always looking for more mentors and "that need is greater now, more than ever, coming out of the pandemic, for kids to have a sense of connection and belonging."

At the next stop, the tour visited with Laurie Gibbs, coordinator of Cape Girardeau Adult Education & Literacy Center (CAPEAEL). She said CAPEAEL is a free program offering high school equivalency preparation, English language classes and literacy instruction for adults preparing for entrance exams into postsecondary education, trade school and certifications. She said they can use volunteers in the classroom to help teach writing and math as well as English as a second language.

At the same location, Robin Koetting, project manager for Read to Succeed, a literacy program that provides kindergarten to second grade students with the foundation to a successful education experience. She said the Read to Succeed program primarily uses volunteer who help lead a student, one-on-one, through Phonics-based workbooks, for a minimum 30 minutes a week.

The final stop on the tour met with Jessica Hill, executive director of the Safe House of Southeast Missouri. Hill said Safe House operates a shelter, outreach center and thrift store, for those affected by domestic abuse. She said they need volunteers to work in the thrift store accepting donations, sorting items and stocking the sales area. Help is also needed with housekeeping duties in the outreach center and groundskeeping at the shelter. They also need individuals interested in mentoring Safe House clients.

Because of the confidential location of their shelter, these volunteers are accepted on a case-by-case basis.

Links for more information on each of the organizations visited on any of the "Get on the Bus" tours in Cape Girardeau and Jackson can be found on the UWSEMO website at www.unitedwayofsemo.org.